


It Had to Be You

by LilyEllison



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Idiots in Love, Marvel Happily Ever After Harlequin Hoopla 2020, Post-Season/Series 03, Romantic Comedy, for one not-great date anyway, temporary Karen Page/OC, temporary Matt Murdock/OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyEllison/pseuds/LilyEllison
Summary: “Oh, I know!” Foggy said. “What if you each brought someone for each other? You know, like, set each other up. That’s a thing friends do, right?”Written for the Marvel HEA Harlequin Hoopla 2020. Prompt: “Valentine’s Day” Line: “SuperRomance” (Any rating, fics need to be longer than 3k)
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Comments: 20
Kudos: 37
Collections: MHEA Harlequin Hoopla Prompt Challenge 2020





	It Had to Be You

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely inspired by the double date scene from When Harry Met Sally. Thanks to irelandhoneybee and Quietshade for being my cheerleaders!

It started off like any other weekday morning at Nelson, Murdock and Page. The three of them went through their rituals — checking messages, getting coffee, logging into their computers. Despite his general tendency toward violence and chaos, Matt couldn’t deny that he loved the mundane routine of it, how natural it had become, how seamlessly they moved next to and around each other. How comfortable they all were sharing space.

And then Foggy exploded a bomb right in the middle of his happy musings.

"So... do you guys want to double with me and Marci this weekend? There's this excellent new place up at Tenth and 50th. It's like Korean-Puerto Rican fusion or something."

"Double?" Karen said. "Like...?"

"Double-date, yeah."

Matt choked on his coffee.

"Um, we're not..." Karen said awkwardly.

"Oh, my bad," Foggy said, though he didn’t sound all that sincere. "You've just been kind of joined at the hip lately."

"We haven't been—" Matt started, but he cut himself off. He and Karen _had_ been spending a lot of time together lately. "I guess we have, kind of."

"But just as friends," Karen said quickly. It was true, but Matt's heart sank anyway. A couple of months ago, they’d run into each other at a new neighborhood bakery they both loved and it had become a Saturday morning ritual...that sometimes turned into spending the whole day together. Usually there were other people involved — Foggy, or Foggy and Marci, or some of Karen's old colleagues. And they never did anything overtly dateish. Nothing that just friends wouldn't do.

But Matt didn't want to be just friends — even though he knew it was too late for him and Karen. He’d blown his chance, and she’d clearly decided that staying platonic was better.

“Well, maybe you could bring other people, then,” Foggy said. “You know, dates.”

There was silence in the office. Well, nothing close to silence for Matt. But no one was talking, anyway.

“When was the last time either of you actually went out on a date?”

Again, neither he nor Karen spoke. Matt wondered if Karen’s answer was the same as his — he hadn’t gone on a date since their one perfect evening together, which felt like it had happened in another lifetime now. In some ways, it had.

“Oh, I know!” Foggy said, taking their silence for its own kind of answer. “What if you each brought someone for each other? You know, like, set each other up. That’s a thing friends do, right?”

“I don’t know, Foggy...” Karen started, but Foggy was like a dog with a particularly appetizing bone.

“It’ll be perfect! You guys know each other so well, who would be better as matchmakers? And if you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a date for Valentine’s Day next week. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

Foggy had a very different idea of fun than Matt did.

“If you’re not willing to set each other up, I’m going to have to assume you actually are dating and are just refusing to tell me,” Foggy said. “And we agreed to no more secrets in this office, so that would be a pretty crappy thing to do to your—”

“OK, I’ll do it,” Karen said, clearly annoyed. “I’m sure I can find someone in Manhattan desperate enough to go out with Matt.”

Matt scowled as Foggy snickered. “What about you, Murdock? Think you can find someone for Karen?”

And dammit, they were really going through with this.

* * *

Karen really wished they weren’t going through with this.

She regretted letting Foggy’s assumption that she and Matt were dating needle her so much. But it was a brutally sore subject. Karen had been wondering for months if Matt would ask her to try again, and he hadn’t. Clearly, the romance between them had been mostly one-sided, and he’d rather just forget about it.

And now that they’d agreed to play matchmaker, she knew exactly who she should set Matt up with — someone so perfect for him it made her insides twist with dread. Part of her was tempted to pick someone awful instead, just to ensure it wouldn’t work out, but then Matt would think that was the kind of person Karen thought he deserved. And despite her teasing, she actually thought Matt was—

Well, it wasn’t really helpful right now to think about everything Matt was to her. Suffice it to say, he should be with someone wonderful. Someone who didn’t have so many skeletons in their closet, someone who was a no-shit, real-deal good person.

So, in the afternoon, when she was walking to an interview for one of her cases, she pulled out her phone to gather some intel from her old boss.

“Karen Page!” Ellison answered in a booming voice. “You’ve seen the light and you’re returning to the fold! When should I have your desk ready?”

Every phone call with Ellison started this way, ever since he realized that Nelson, Murdock and Page was actually working out and Karen had no intention of returning to the Bulletin.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Karen said with a grin, “but you’re just going to have to accept that I’m the one that got away.”

“Never,” Ellison said emphatically. “But if that’s not why you’re calling, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Have you talked to Anita Srinivasan lately?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?”

“Hmmm,” Ellison said with an air of interest.

“What?”

“I’m just learning new things about you all the time, Page.”

Karen chuckled. Anita _was_ pretty hot, but — “I’m not asking for me, I want to set her up with someone. Do you think she’d be game?”

“Maybe. She was just complaining to Lily over brunch about how hard it is to find someone decent to date in this town. You should come for brunch soon, by the way. We miss you.”

“I will. I promise.”

“So, who’d you have in mind for Anita?”

“Oh, um, it’s Matt,” Karen said, trying to sound casual.

“Matt Murdock?”

“Yeah—“

“Matt Murdock as in the love of your life Matt Murdock?”

Karen felt her face go flaming hot. “He’s not the—we’re just friends.”

“You’re gonna have to work on that if you want it to sound convincing.”

“I don’t know why you think—”

“Look,” Ellison said, cutting off her flustered denial, “I saw what it did to you when he was gone. And how much happier you are around him now. They pay me to be observant, you know.” Ellison sounded smug. “Plus you turned down Jason, and the only reason for that could be that you already found the love of your life.”

“Or maybe you’re just a bad matchmaker,” Karen said defensively.

“Think you can do better?”

“I do.”

“All right. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I know better than to try to change Karen Page’s mind when it’s made up. Call Anita. You need her number?”

“No, I’ve got it.”

“Don’t be a stranger, Page. I mean it.”

Karen made vague promises and said goodbye, then sat down on a bench, shaken.

_The love of your life_.

It had such a ring of certainty to it, especially coming from the mouth of a hard-headed newsroom warhorse like Ellison.

But, of course, Ellison didn’t know what he was talking about. (Except there was a voice in her head that said he did, dammit. He totally did. And she should just _talk_ to Matt, instead of—) She wasn’t going to let this throw her off.

She hunted through her contacts until she found Anita’s number and clicked to place the call decisively.

* * *

Matt hung up the phone decisively, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t doing something totally stupid.

“Matt,” Foggy said in a concerned tone, “not to be an eavesdropper or anything, but did I just hear you say goodbye to someone named _Emilio_?”

“Yeah,” Matt said.

“Please tell me we have a new client named Emilio.”

“No,” Matt said.

“Please tell me you did not just call Emilio Garcia Costa and ask him to go on a date with Karen.”

“I can’t do that, Foggy.”

“You did. You called the most successful person in our graduating class who didn’t totally sell out — well, other than what’s-her-name who is somehow already a federal judge.”

“Aurora Stanton.”

“Don’t change the subject. Your choice for Karen is a guy who has gotten uber-rich suing the pants off the country’s evilest corporations?”

“Well—”

“A guy who dedicates his wealth to a charity that helps underprivileged kids go to college?”

“Foggy—”

“A guy who dated prettier girls than you did in law school?”

“He’s a nice guy,” Matt said weakly.

“Hell yes, he’s a nice guy. He’s the nicest and the smartest and the best. You can’t pick him!”

“Why? Are you saying Karen doesn’t deserve the best?”

Foggy spluttered. “Well, no, of course, I adore Karen. But you’re going to look like a chump next to Emilio! Is that really what you want? I mean, aren’t you crazy in love with her?”

Matt’s jaw dropped open.

“The whole reason I proposed this ridiculous scheme is so you could set Karen up with someone terrible and then rescue her from his sheer terribleness.”

“But what about my date?”

“Karen was supposed to choose someone equally awful! This was supposed to end with my two best friends sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. In time for Valentine’s Day, dammit!” Foggy put his head in his hands. “You are the worst. Why do I even try?”

“Karen doesn’t want—she’s made it pretty clear she just wants to be friends,” Matt said sadly. “And I can’t pick someone terrible for her. Karen is—well, you know. She’s incredible.”

“Have you tried telling her that?”

Matt sighed. “I think you’re helping more than you know, Fog. I think it’ll be good to—move on.”

* * *

_You can do this_ , Karen told herself as she walked into the restaurant for the triple date from hell. _Just think of it as—moving on._

Matt was already there, sitting at the bar, sipping a whisky neat. Karen sat down next to him. “Hey. Ready for this?”

“I guess. Do I look OK?” he asked nervously.

She reached over to smooth the hair at his temple. “You look great,” she said, trying not to pay attention to how good it felt to touch him, to the rush of happiness that it brought her.

_The love of your life._

“Karen—” Matt said thickly, but she had just spotted Anita walking through the door over his shoulder. She jumped up to wave Anita over, and Matt stood up, too.

Karen introduced the two of them, both pleased and distressed by the way Anita’s smile widened as she took Matt in from head to toe.

“Anita was a sports reporter at the Bulletin when I worked there,” Karen told Matt. “But now she’s freelancing, and she just published a book about boxing during the Great Depression that’s getting amazing reviews.”

Matt’s eyebrows raised with interest. “Oh, that’s fantastic,” he said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Anita said. “I’ve been incredibly lucky.”

“Matt’s dad was a boxer,” Karen supplied.

“Oh, no way. You didn’t tell me that, Page,” Anita said excitedly. And Karen hadn’t — she’d mostly been concerned with making sure Anita wouldn’t get awkward when she saw the cane and glasses. Anita turned to Matt. “Would I know the name?”

“No, he wasn’t famous by any means,” Matt said. “He just fought in local bouts here in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Well, actually, I’ve been researching the way the local boxing scene faded at the end of the 20th century for my next book. And Hell’s Kitchen was one of the last holdouts,” Anita said. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh, wait! You’re not Battlin’ Jack Murdock’s kid? Holy shit.”

Matt smiled, though it was a little wavery. “I am, actually.”

“Wow. God, I don’t want to grill you or anything, but I would love to talk to you more for the book, if you’re willing. I’m so interested in telling these stories so they’re not forgotten.”

“Yeah, OK,” Matt said, nodding.

“Maybe we could get coffee sometime next week?”

“Sure,” Matt said with another tentative smile, and Karen had to take a deep breath.

They hadn’t even made it to the table and they were already setting up their second date.

* * *

Matt hadn’t been on a date in a long time, but he thought it was a pretty good sign that he’d gotten Anita’s number before they even sat down for dinner. _Remember, you’re moving on_ , he told himself.

He was a little nervous about the prospect of talking about his dad for her book, but in the last year, he’d gotten a new appreciation for what Jack Murdock had gone through, and if Anita would be writing about it anyway, he wanted to at least know more about what she was planning.

Matt tried to focus on Anita’s animated conversation as they waited for the rest of the group, but he found himself distracted by Karen. She seemed anxious — her heart rate was up and she was rubbing her hands together. He kept trying to draw her into the discussion, but she didn’t say much.

Anita was in the middle of a funny story about almost getting locked in an archive in Brooklyn while doing research when Matt heard a voice he recognized instantly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Emilio said. “But did you by any chance record the audio for Ron Katzenberger’s book about the ’69 Mets?”

“Yes!” Anita said. “This is so exciting. No one has ever recognized me by my voice before.”

“I just listened to it,” Emilio said. “Great book. And your reading made it even better.”

“Thank you,” Anita said, sounding extremely pleased.

Matt turned around then and Emilio laughed. “Oh, hey, Matt! I didn’t even realize that was you. Is Foggy here yet?”

“No, we’re still waiting. But Emilio,” Matt said, touching Karen’s arm, “this is your date for the evening, Karen Page.”

“Oh,” Emilio said, sounding surprised as they shook hands and exchanged greetings. Karen, in turn, introduced him to Anita, and Matt couldn’t help but notice that he seemed more enthusiastic about Matt’s date than his own. His brow wrinkled. Had Emilio turned into a jerk in the last few years?

“I’ve been doing voice work as a way to bring in some extra cash while I work on my next book,” Anita explained to the group.

And then Emilio was complimenting Anita on her voice again. And it _was_ a great voice, rich and round and all sweetness at the edges. But still, Karen was _right there_.

Luckily, Foggy and Marci chose just that moment to arrive, distracting everyone with a flurry of apologies for being late and hugs or handshakes all around.

It was finally time to sit down.

Emilio offered his arm to Karen, and Anita offered hers to Matt, and they made their way to the table. Matt could only hope it would be smooth sailing from here.

* * *

The sailing got a little smoother during dinner. Karen discovered Emilio could be rather charming, despite her initial impression.

“You are clearly the bravest person in New York, if you’re willing to spend every day with Foggy and Matt. I shudder to think,” he said with a laugh. “Does Foggy still sing Gilbert and Sullivan with the same panache?”

“His panache is perfect. His pitch, not so much,” Karen giggled, ignoring Foggy’s indignant, “I can hear you!” from across the table.

“And Matt still quotes Thurgood Marshall at the drop of a hat?”

“We must dissent from the apathy,” Karen said with a nod, her heart squeezing.

They chatted about Nelson, Murdock and Page, about the perils of the legal profession and P.I. life. And Emilio told her about his charity — named in honor of the brother he’d lost as a teenager.

Karen found herself warming to him, in a friendly way, at least.

But then Marci asked him about a mutual friend and soon they were caught up in a long chain of “do you remember?” and “what happened to...?” with Foggy chiming in as well.

On her other side, Matt and Anita were debating the relative merits of something having to do with...Muhammad Ali?

Eventually, she didn’t even have her plate of food to keep her company anymore, so she snuck away to the bathroom.

When she emerged, she was startled to discover Emilio waiting for her, wearing his coat.

“Hi,” she said with her biggest fake smile. “Everything OK?”

“I’m feeling a little silly, frankly.”

“What? Why?”

“Karen, I'm sure you're a very wonderful person,” he said, “but when Matt called and said he wanted to set me up with his business partner, I...jumped to conclusions. I thought he meant Foggy. I had a crush on him in law school, but I wasn't exactly out then. I guess Matt missed the subsequent memo.”

“Oh,” Karen said. “Wow.”

“Foggy seems very happy with Marci and I don’t want to make things more uncomfortable than they are, so I think I’m going to go quietly. I already took care of the check.”

“Emilio! You didn’t have to do that.”

“It was my pleasure, really.”

She hugged him, relieved that she didn’t have to pretend to want to date him. “It was so nice to meet you. Uh, better luck next time?”

“I hope,” he said with a chuckle.

And he left.

Karen realized she didn’t want to go back to the table and be the fifth wheel with Foggy and Marci, and Anita and Matt, but going out into the February night without her coat would seem overly dramatic. After a few minutes of indecision, she went to go sit at the bar. Probably they wouldn’t notice her absence for a while.

* * *

Matt noticed with a pang when Karen left the table and Emilio followed a few minutes later. Had they given each other some kind of signal?

He’d actually felt a little guilty relief in the fact that Emilio seemed more interested in Foggy and his stories than in Karen as the night went on — that was at least better than fawning over Anita — but maybe Matt had misjudged everything. Maybe they had been making eyes at each other all night. Maybe they were making plans to leave together.

He heard their voices murmuring across the restaurant, but he deliberately tuned them out. The least he could give Karen was some privacy.

He tossed back the rest of his whisky, down to the last drop, and welcomed the burn in his throat.

* * *

Karen focused on the easy burn of the whiskey in her throat, the amber glow in her glass. She let her hair fall around her like a curtain as she leaned her forearms on the bar. She didn’t want to look around. She really, really didn’t want to know if Matt and Anita left together. She was just hoping Foggy and Marci would notice her abandoned coat — and her — before they went home themselves.

So Karen was startled when it was Matt who sat down next to her instead. She jumped a little before recovering. “Hey,” she said warily.

“I thought before that you might be leaving,” he said, something delicate dawning in his voice, “but you’re still here.” He smiled a slow, crooked smile as he handed Karen her coat, and she didn’t know what to make of it. She swallowed and looked away, busying herself with stowing her coat on the empty stool on her other side.

“Anita had to go,” Matt said when she picked up her drink again. “She said to tell you to call soon.”

Karen shook the ice in her glass, making a little sound of acknowledgement.

“So...uh, what did you think of Emilio?” Matt asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.

Karen smiled ruefully. “I'm sad to say you don’t show much promise as a matchmaker. Emilio thought he was here for Foggy.”

Matt huffed out a laugh. “I was wondering...”

“So I think I win.”

“Anita _is_ pretty perfect.”

Karen pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yeah. Her voice alone...”

“But there’s one big problem,” Matt said.

“Oh?” Karen said, her eyebrows arching up as she turned her face toward him. “What’s that?”

“She’s not you.”

“Matt—”

“Karen, listen. All this night did was prove to me what I already knew — I’m not interested in anyone else. I can barely even pretend. I know I already ruined everything, and I promise I’ll never bring this up again, but if there’s even a chance that...that you might be willing to try again someday, I’ll wait. For as long as it takes.”

She looked at him a moment, stunned. Then she leaned over on her barstool, resting her hand on Matt's thigh for balance, and she kissed him.

The love of her life.

* * *

❤️❤️❤️

* * *

“Anita was in on it the whole time,” Matt announced when he came into the office after his coffee date the following week.

“What do you mean?” Foggy said, clearly unable to resist the lure of juicy gossip.

“Apparently, Ellison told her that if anything happened between us, she would be — and I quote — ‘meddling in the course of true love.’ So she was just there to try to make Karen jealous.”

“What?” Karen said indignantly. But then she laughed, and Matt joined in. He’d been on top of the world for the last few days, and he was very glad he’d avoided a tricky “letting her down easy” conversation with Anita.

“We barely talked about boxing,” he continued. “She said we could do that another time. She was too interested in what happened after the date.” Matt cleared his throat. He definitely had _not_ gotten into the details of exactly what happened after the date, but he enjoyed the blush that was creeping up Karen’s neck anyway.

“So neither of your dates ever had any intention of actually dating you?” asked Foggy, who had been strutting around like God’s gift ever since he heard about Emilio’s little mix-up with Matt. “That’s pretty pathetic.”

But Matt and Karen were too busy shifting closer to each other to mind the attempted insult.

“At least I got what I wanted,” Foggy said. “Everyone at Nelson, Murdock and Page has a date for Valentine’s Day.”

Then he went into the kitchenette, pointedly leaving the two of them alone.

“We haven’t actually talked about that,” Matt murmured, close to Karen’s ear.

“What do you think, Mr. Murdock?” she asked, turning her head and pressing her forehead against his. “Do you want to be my valentine?”

“I wouldn’t be anyone else’s, Miss Page.”


End file.
